9 May 2017

THE ‘JUXON MEDAL.’ ALTHOUGH OFTEN REFERRED TO AS A ‘MEDAL,’ THIS GOLD PIECE IS ACTUALLY A PATTERN FOR A FIVE UNITE (FIVE POUND) COIN (M.I. 374/270; 38 MM.). IMAGE COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

Books on 17th century military campaigns rarely mention the award of medals. Beyond the odd token of appreciation handed out by the monarch, I was unaware of them being routinely issued at all.

So it was fascinating to learn that the practice became increasingly common during the 1640s, with medals from the period highly prized by collectors today.

The subject is explored in a new book, British Historical Medals of the 17th Century, by Jerome J. Platt. I asked Jerome about who typically issued these awards and why, and learned more about the background to his own collecting ...

The pair married on 14 February 1613, with lavish simultaneous celebrations in London and Heidelberg. John Donne was commissioned to write a marriage song to celebrate the occasion, so, for all those celebrating Valentine's Day, here it is ...